Thermoelectric refrigeration control means



Feb. 6, 1968 A. A BECK THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATION CONTROL MEANSOriginal Filed Feb. 18, 1965 INVENTOR.

ARNOLD A. BECK.

ATTORNEY.

nitcd States Patent F 3,367,124 THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATION CONTROLMEANS Arnold A. Beck, Syracuse, N.Y., assignor to Carrier Corporation,Syracuse, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application Feb. 18,1965, Ser. No. 433,737. Divided and this application Sept. 27, 1966,Ser. No. 582,426

2 Claims. (CI. 62-93) This application is a division of copendingapplication Ser. No. 433,737 filed Feb. 18, 1965 now Patent No.3,304,726, and assigned to the assignee of this application.

This invention relates to refrigeration control means. Morespecifically, this invention relates to an arrangement for controllingthe operation of a thermoelectric refrigeration unit employed as a heatpump.

Thermoelectric refrigeration units operable under the well-known Peltiercycle have been proposed for the purpose of heating or cooling airsupplied to an enclosure. Specifically, a thermoelectric panel havingcold junctions on one side and hot junctions on the other isincorporated in equipment used to supply air to an enclosure through aceiling therein. Attention is directed to copending United States patentapplication Ser. No. 426,846, filed Jan. 21, 1965, now issued as UnitedStates Letters Patent 3,426,- 477, in the names of Gerald K. Gable etal. and assigned to the assignee of this invention for an example ofsuch equipment. In thermoelectric panels of the kind under considerationthe specific junctions referred to above become cold and hot in responseto the application of a D-C current having a particular polarity. Whenthe polarity of the D-C current is reversed, the thermal characteristicof the junctions is reversed so that the cold junctions become hotjunctions and vice versa.

This invention has for its principal object the provision of an improvedcontrol circuit employed with thermoelectric refrigeration units whereinthe unit is employed to either heat or cool air being supplied to anenclosure.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a controlarrangement of the kind described wherein a first thermal sensingelement is employed to detect the temperature of the air within a roomand a second thermal sensing element is employed to detect thetemperature of the air flowing from the air conditioning unit employinga thermoelectric refrigeration unit. The purpose of the two thermalsensing elements is to stabilize ,the control and prevent excessivecycling thereof. In this regard, a signal reflecting the temperature ofthe air flowing from the unit is employed to provide anticipation to thesignal reflecting the temperature of the air in the enclosure so as toavoid over-cooling or over-heating the air in the enclosure.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improvedcontrol circuit wherein novel means are employed for the purpose ofoperating a pump for removing condensate that collects in the airconditioning unit as the temperature otthe' air passed over the coldjunctions is reduced below its dew point.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent upon aconsideration of the ensuing specification and drawing in which thefigure is a control arrangement illustrating the invention.

Briefly, the control forming the subject of the invention includes athermal detection unit, an amplifier, a firing circuit for energizingsilicon rectifier units employed for the purpose of supplying D-Ccurrent to the panel or panels. In addition, there is a conventionaltrigger circuit employed for the purpose of determining the polarity ofthe current supplied to the silicon rectifiers and Patented Feb. 6, 1968ICC thus the thermal characteristic of the junctions on the panel overwhich air is delivered. With this latter unit, the thermoelectric panelemployed may be utilized to either heat or cool air flowing thereoverunder the influence of a fan in a conventional thermoelectric airconditioning unit.

As pointed out above, an air conditioning unit incorporating athermoelectric panel composed of P-type and N-type modules isillustrated in copending United States patent application Ser. No.426,846, filed Jan. 21, 1965, now issued as United States Letters Patent3,426,- 477, and assigned to the assignee of this invention. The controlwhich is the subject of this invention may be employed to regulateoperation of the air conditioning unit described in this copendingapplication. The control system serving as the subject of this inventionis automatically operable to regulate the output of the thermoelectricair conditioning unit to supply either cool air or warm air to anenclosure.

For a clear understanding of the invention, attention is directed to thedrawing wherein there is shown schematically a circuit diagram wherein aconvenient source of A-C current is represented by lines L L and Lincluding a main control switch 10. Connected across two of the powersupply lines is a fan 12 employed for the purpose of routing air to besupplied to the enclosure over the thermoelectric panel. Also connectedacross the power supply line and an active neutral line is a condensatepump motor 14 together with a circuit 16 for energizing the condensatepump motor. Circuit 16 includes a silicon rectifier 18, the gate ofwhich is con nected to a resistance 20. To the end of resistance 20 isconnected a flat copper member 22 suspended within a condensate trough24 formed of material having good electrical conducting properties.Connected to the condensate trough 24 is lead 26 connected in turn to aresistance 28. Condensate pump motor 14 is energized when the level ofcondensate in trough 24 collects to a point where engagement between thepool of liquid and the member 22 occurs. Current flows from line 30through resistance 28, lead 26, pan 24, the pool of water within thepan, member 22 and resistance 20 to fire the silicon rectifier 18.Current thus flows to the motor 14 to complete a circuit therethrough.An important feature of the invention includes the utilization of arelatively fiat bar 22 providing a substantial surface to which theliquid or condensate in trough 24 may cling, even after the level ofcondensate has dropped below the plate. In other words, the meniscuseffect of the liquid permits the circuit to be established through thepool of liquid even though the liquid level is below the member or bar22.

It will be observed that the primary coil 31 of transformer 32 isconnected across two of the lines serving as the power source. Thesecondary coil includes a first portion 34 and a second portion 35.Portion 34 provides a ten-volt source of power for transmission to thethermal sensing device employed in the invention. The two portions 34and 35 serve as a source of power for a circuit including a relay 36controlling a switch 38 regulating polarity of the current supplied tothe silicon rectifiers associated with the individual thermoelectricpanels. Contacts 40 are connected in series with relay 36 and arecontrolled by a trigger circuit to be later described. The output fromsecondary coil 34 is fed to a bridge '42 where it is converted to D-C.The current flowing from the rectifier is then passed through acondenser 43 and resistor 45 acting as a filter, and is then fed to aZener diode voltage regulator 44 where it energizes as a D-C source of6.8 volts to be fed to a bridge circuit including two thermal detectiondevices.

Considering the bridge circuit, resistances 46 and 48 form one leg ofthe bridge. A second leg includes the variable resistor 49 and atemperature sensing device 50, preferably an NTC thermistor, theresistance of which varies with respect to a change in temperature. Thethermistor 50 is employed to sense the temperature of the air flowingwithin the enclosure being served by the thermoelectric unit. Imposedacross the bridge so as to serve as a part thereof is a resistance 52and a second thermistor 54', also the NTC type, responsive to thetemperature of the airflowing from the thermoelectric unit adjacent thedischarge of air flow therefrom. The output of that portion of thebridge including members 46, 48, 52 and S4 is fed through a lead 56through a resistor 58 to a lead 60. The output of the bridge circuitincluding resistors 46, 48, 49 and thermistor S is fed through arelatively small resistance 62 to the lead 60. The action of thethermistors is 'such that the effect of the signal in line 60 representsthe'temperature sensed by both thermistors 50 and 54. Should the outputbe zero, no signal will be passed to the amplifier and the control willremain as set. Should thermistor S0 sense a need for cooling in the areaserved, a signal will be fed through resistance 62 to lead 60 and willbe represented by a voltage of a certain value. As the thermoelectricunit acts to satisfy the cooling demand, thermistor 54 will detect therelatively cold temperature flowing from the unit to the room and willsend a signal to lead 60 via lead 56 and resistance 58. The resultant ofthe signals as obtained in accordance with known network theory presentsto an amplifier of a conventional construction indicated at 64 a newsignal which will tend to reduce the magnitude of the original signal.

An important feature of the invention is the design of the bridgecircuit forming the thermal detection means. It will be appreciated thatnormally it will require the passage of a predetermined time intervalbefore the temperature sensing device serving the enclosure issatisfied. The time interval is determined, in part, by the size of theenclosure and the capacity of the fan. Although the temperature sensingdevice, in this case thermistor 50, may be satisfied the unit willoperate to overcool because of a natural lag in the apparatus. Thebridge described will minimize the overcooling by anticipatingsatisfaction of the thermistor 50. To this end, resistance 58 possessesa relatively high resistance compared to resistance 62. Thus, the valueof the signal at the output of the thermal sensing bridge as detected inlead 60 represents the requirement of the thermistor 50 adjusted toreflect the action of thermistor 54 directly sensing the output of thethermoelectric air conditioning unit.

The voltage of the signal in lead 60 reflects the require ment foreither heating or cooling. As pointed out above, should the bridgecircuit described be balanced the control circuit is designed so thatthe amplifier 64, being biased at 8.5 volts, will not transmit a signalto the firing circuit actuating mechanism comprising zener diodes 66 and68 together with circuitry for assuring transmission of .a constantphase signal through lead 70 to the firing circuit for energizing thesilicon rectifiers 73, 74, 75

controlling flow of current to the panels served thereby.

In the event the signal emanating from the amplifier is more than 8.5volts flow of current through zener diode 66 only will ensue. A signalrepresenting the magnitude ofthe cooling requirement will be present inlead 70 causing the individual firing circuits associated with thesilicon rectifiers 73, 74 and 75 to be energized. Switch 38 will be inthe cooling position so that the polarity of the current flowing to thepanels will be such that the junctions in communication with the flow ofair under the influence of fan 12 will be cold.

The control automatically modulates the cooling output of the panels asit approaches the'design set point by detecting through thermistor 50 adecrease in the temperature of the air as the unit operates. At the sametime, the action of thermistor S4 is such that it expedites satisfactionof the thermal requirement of the enclosure by introducing into thecontrol compensation forthe lag in time for a change in output from theair conditioning unit to be sensed by the thermistor 50. Operation undercircumstances where a heating requirement is involved is similar to thatdescribed in conjunction with the cooling requirement with the exceptionthat the Schmitt trigger circuit, as it senses an amplifier outputvoltage less,

than 8.5 volts, will actuate the switch controlling contacts 40 to moverelay 38 to the dotted line position indicated. Under thesecircumstances, the polarity of the current flowing through the panelswill be such that the junctions on the panel in communication with airflow will be hot. It will also be'appreciated that zener diode 68 willpass current while zener diode 66 will not. It will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that transistors 67, 69 and 71 are employed to assurethe presence in lead of a signal having a constant phase characteristic.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it willbe understood the invention is not limited thereto since it may beotherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an air cooling unit, trough means for collecting condensate formedas the temperature of the air flowing through the unit is reduced belowits dew point, pump from said trough, circuit means for controllingoperation of said pump, said circuit means including a metallic membersuspended within said trough means so as to present a surface forcontact by the accumulation of a predetermined amount of condensate, andmeans for completing a circuit through said pump means in response tocontact between the member and the condensate, said circuit remainingenergized after a reduction in the level of liquid in said trough belowthe member through the meniscus effect present when the liquid drainsfrom the surface.

2. The method of removing condensate from a trough disposed to receivethe condensate from a condensate creating means which comprises thesteps of, periodically pumping the condensate from the trough inresponse to the predetermined accumulation of collected condensate,utilizing the meniscus effect of the condensate as its level is reducedto sustain the pumping action to assure the removal of a predeterminedamount of the condensate.

References Cited UNITED STATES, PATENTS 2,929,234 2/1960 Wilson 137-3923,252,420 5/1966 Sorensen 103- 25 3,279,379 10/1966 Klyce 10325 WILLIAMJ. WYE, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,367,124 February 6, 1968 Arnold A. Beck It is certified that errorappears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

CoIumn {1, line 36, after "pump" insert means for periodically removingcollected condensate Signed and sealed this 29th day of July 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents I Attesting Officer

2. THE METHOD OF REMOVING CONDENSATE FROM A TROUGH DISPOSED TO RECEIVETHE CONDENSATE FROM A CONDENSATE CREATING MEANS WHICH COMPRISES THESTEPS OF, PERIODICALLY PUMPING THE CONDENSATE FROM THE TROUGH INRESPONSE TO THE PREDETERMINED ACCUMULATION OF COLLECTED CONDENSATE,UTILIZING THE MENISCUS EFFECT OF THE CONDENSATE AS ITS LEVEL IS REDUCEDTO SUSTAIN THE PUMPING ACTION TO ASSURE THE REMOVAL OF A PREDETERMINEDAMOUNT OF THE CONDENSATE.